Preconception Introduction

Q: Why should I have preconception care?

A: Most people prepare their cars better for a weekend trip than they prepare their bodies for a pregnancy. Let’s use your car as an example: Several things have to happen for your car to work well:

• Enough gas has to be in the tank and the gas lines needs to be connected,
• the battery needs to be charged and connected,
• all tires need to be inflated and you need to use the right carkeys, both to open the door and to start the ignition.
• And even small things like the windshield wipers need to work.

A problem with just one of these parts will prevent your car from functioning properly. No matter how full the gas tank is, for example, your car won’t start if the battery is dead. And even one flat tire will prevent your from driving. If your car doesn’t function, each of these parts need to be checked and fixed to make it work.

It’s not that much different with your body and your fertility: There are many different parts, and all have to work together for you to get pregnant. You need to check each relevant part of both bodies to make sure they are working well if you want to improve your chance of getting pregnant.

So instead of starting TTC by asking yourself "How can we improve our chances of getting pregnant?" you may want to first start answering this question: "What needs to happen for us to get pregnant and how can I check each part to make sure it’s working?" You’d be surprised to find out that getting the right answer doesn’t take that long. In fact, it can sometimes be answered in 5 minutes, but rarely does it take longer than 6 weeks. Once you have begun exploring the "What?" question and once you have the answers, then your next question on the "How?" to improve your fertility will be answered quickly.